Today's Joplin Globe features an article on a $12.5 million settlement reached in a lawsuit filed by the widow of a New York doctor who was killed in a 2004 plane crash in Kirksville. The money was paid by Corporate Airlines (now RegionsAir) which owned the plane, and American Airlines, which set up the flight.
I would congratulate the Globe on its research concerning the company that might replace Trans State Airline in providing service to Joplin, but it appears that I was the one who provided the research, since the same story appeared three days ago in The Turner Report
If The Globe reporter had examined the actual court documents in the case (which I did), he might have discovered, for instance, that Dodi Meyer Miller, the widow, had initially asked for closer to $100 million.
It doesn't appear that the Globe reporter examined the official National Transportation Safety Board report on the accident, either.
And, coincidentally, the Globe story does not go into detail on any of the other lawsuits, which I did not do in my post either. I did, however, go through the court documents for each of those cases.
The only original reporting I can find in the Globe article is where it notes that the reporter tried to call someone with the airline and wasn't able to talk to anyone.
This is just the most recent of a series of stories in the Globe based on stories initially broken in The Turner Report that make no mention of their original source. Lately, at least three stories I have run that appear to have no information other than that which I posted on this blog. All, of course, have Globe reporters' bylines attached.
That wouldn't be quite as irritating except for the final sentence in today's Globe article: "The Associated Press contributed to this report."
Apparently, if someone is bigger than you, you give them credit. Otherwise, you just take what you want. If there had been any original reporting done on the story, that might have been different. As far as I can tell, it's a Turner Report story with a different byline.
One last note, as far as I have been able to determine, The Turner Report was the first media outlet to break the story on the $12.5 million settlement. I was not able to find any evidence of an AP story or any mention in the New York media of the settlement when I was doing the research over the weekend.
It is evident that the Globe's information came from one source.
How does your big head fit through the small halls of the middle school?
ReplyDeleteIf Randy doesn't point this out, no one will ever know.
ReplyDeleteReporters these days are just plain lazy and uninspired. The days of "shoeleather reporting" are long gone. Research today consists mainly of just "googling." A trip to the courthouse is out of the question. Reporters don't even phone sources much anymore; instead, they send their questions by email, which allows no opportunity for follow-up.
Now this just sounds like sour grapes ... it almost sounds like the TR is trying to push the Globe's buttons to say, "See, this is what you get if you only would have hired me."
ReplyDeleteThis isn't more important that Christina Freeman either
ReplyDeleteCan you prove that the Turner Report was the Globe's only source? Probably not. You've made numerous errors over the months and I'm sure the Globe's editors don't trust your reporting skills.
ReplyDeleteThe more likely scenario is they consulted the same online court records you did, but they didn't do a very good job of digging for the details.
Also, did the Globe claim to "break" the story? I doubt it. Sounds like you have sour grapes to me.
Randy, some of these media outlets know about the stories you publish before you post. The Globe, Daily, and the TV stations sometimes think it is more important to get it right and get the whole story than to get it first. All you care about is getting it first. That's apparently what feeds your fragile ego.
Not saying that's what happened here, but posts such as these injure your credibility.
I understand that Globe and Tv want to wait and get it right but they look a little silly reporting something 3 days later, not to mention reporting it to death then with the 5,6,10 and noon the next day and usually one more time after that. Get off your tails,get some contacts and get the story, don't wait for a news release, go get it. Get the news way before they release it. I came form a bigger city so I guess I am spoiled to the rapid and aggressive reporting there, it was news at it's best. Sometimes they were too early and had to retract but at least they did something.
ReplyDeleteNope< still not as important
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure that The Globe reporter who wrote that story was covering this crash long before you ever heard of Corporate Air.
ReplyDeleteTime to get the meds adjusted?
ReplyDeleteThink so, the Globe reporter probably didn't even remember the original incident let alone who Corporate Air was,is.
ReplyDelete